


Perfection Misspent

by Nijad



Category: Dragon Ball, RWBY
Genre: Adaptation, Additional Characters and tags to be added, Android Saga, Angst, Cell Saga, Dragon Ball Z - Freeform, F/F, F/M, It's Dragonball cmon, RWBY Z, Science Babies, lots of fighting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:40:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22223452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nijad/pseuds/Nijad
Summary: Several Years into Team RWBY's career as Huntresses, they find themselves closer than ever, with families, and even children on the way. However, in a moment of relative peace, a mysterious woman appears from a distant, doomed future, warning them of an approaching evil that threatens all life. The vile machinations of Dr. Merlot will bear fruit, and vile, grimm-human Amalgamates will defeat Team RWBY and destroy the world. With the stranger's intervention, they hope to best this threat, but every action has a reaction, and time is convoluted. Can Team RWBY change the future? Or does the very future itself hold the key to their doom?An Adaptation of Dragon Ball Z's Android Cell Saga, with elements and characters changed to suit the universe.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 10
Kudos: 15





	Perfection Misspent

**Author's Note:**

> Hello again everyone. It certainly has been a long time since I've written anything, and here I am again with something new. For anyone who recognizes my name, don't worry, Wrath's Palace is still being worked on, but I've been in a rut for a long time writing-wise. This fic has been worked on on and off for well over three years at this point, and was something I'd thought about doing for a very long time. With, of all things, the recent expansion of the Dragon Ball card game, Cell has been in my mind, and it filled me with inspiration for this. So, I thought I'd write it out in full, break my writer's block, and maybe scratch an itch for some folk out there. So, enjoy!

It was supposed to be a simple little get together. Something great, a celebration. Yang was coming home, and that much deserved celebration. But it had also been seven years since Team RWBY had finally reunited in Haven, after their initial time apart after the Fall of Beacon. They’d vowed to remain together after, but had underestimated just how close they’d grow. 

“Ruby, be careful!” Weiss shouted, as her very eager wife strode forward closer to the edge of the cliff overlooking Haven Academy they and Blake were to meet at. “If you fall-”

“Aw, Weiss, quit worrying!” Ruby said, her cloak billowing in the winds borne from their high altitude. Ruby’s attire had changed little in the transition, still wearing her black skirt with red trimmings, black leggings, and an ornate, laced top accented with faux bullets and steel roses. Ruby tilted her head, her brow knitting. “Though, why  _ are  _ we up here and not at the school?”

“Honestly, Ruby,” Weiss said, pinching the bridge of her nose, shaking her head. Much like Ruby, Weiss had opted to maintain a similar fashion sense, with an ornate pale dress and white coat over it. Today, however, her attire was more casual, with a pair of simple pants and white shirt. At least, it  _ would _ be a white shirt, were it not for the mishap Ruby had made with the laundry. As it stands, Weiss’ shirt was an extremely uncharacteristic bright pink, and the main source of Weiss’ extra frustration. “You should know, you got her this mission.”

“But… but Blake was the one who went over the numbers and stuff!” Ruby protested. “You know how bad I am with that!”

“It’s true, I did cover that,” Blake said, leaping down from a tree that stood next to both Weiss and Ruby. Weiss, having not even noticed the tree, let alone Blake, shrieked in terror, making Blake chuckle and Ruby run to her side.

“Blake! Don’t scare Weiss like that!” Ruby said, hugging Weiss’ side, squishing her in her embrace.

Weiss struggled, eventually guiding Ruby off of her, straightening her shirt out. “Hello, Blake,” she said, regaining her composure.

“Hey,” Blake said, smiling. Blake had taken to the longcoat she’d began wearing after the fall, though her boots and top were far more mundane and restrained, being much more simple and functional for hunting purposes. “Nice shirt.”

“Quiet,” Weiss said, her eyeline narrowing. “Yang’s rubbing off on you too much.”

“I’d hope so,” Blake said, flashing the black Tungsten wedding band she wore on her left hand.

“Regardless,” Weiss said, “Ruby’s got a point. Why  _ are _ we out here?”

Blake turned her head to look over the school. “Yang’s mission was confidential, and risked sparking an international incident. So, we’re picking her up in this remote location after her debriefing. The school’ll naturally have airship traffic, so it masks the drop well.”

“You sent  _ Yang Xiao Long _ on a confidential, discretionary mission?” Weiss asked in disbelief.

“Hey, Yang can be sneaky!” Ruby protested. “Plus, she’s married to the sneakiest Huntress on Remnant. She  _ had _ to have gotten some pointers!”

Blake chuckled as Weiss shook her head, when they all noticed the telltale whir of airship engines. Ruby squealed in excitement, and Weiss smiled at the promise of her returning sister-in-law, but Blake’s eyes narrowed. She reached into her coat, withdrawing a pair of binoculars to gaze at the coming airship. She saw SDC insignias on both sides, making her eyes bulge behind the lenses. “That’s not Yang. That’s an SDC airship.”

“That’s not possible,” Weiss said. “The SDC doesn’t exist any-” she was cut off as the airship roared overhead, Weiss’ company’s old logo present on the sides. “-more… But the company rebranded and relocated to Vale after my father was jailed. What’s going on?”

“That’s what I want to know,” Blake said, grimacing. “The reports I got from Winter said it was done.” She turned her head to the other girls. “Ruby, they said that right?”

“Y-yeah,” Ruby said hesitantly. “Mission was accomplished, though our copy didn’t have details. What’s going on…”

Blake used the Binoculars again to look at the landed airship, which had sat down in the middle of Haven’s empty courtyard. The door opened, and a platoon of the automated soldier drones fanned out, before two different figures walked down the ramp. One was a man that looked nearly eight feet tall, wearing what appeared to be a white officer’s uniform. He was built like a monster, with shoulders broad enough to likely make him need to go through doors sideways, and muscles that flexed the seams of his jacket. The other, however, was more alarming. Standing next to him was a woman that looked miniscule in comparison, clad in a flashy red dress. Her right hand wore a bicep-high glove, but her left was cybernetic, as was the left side of her face, a gleaming red eye shining in the distance, only partially obscured by her black hair.

“Is that… Cinder?” Ruby asked, squinting her eyes to see.

“It can’t be,” Blake said, lowering the binoculars in disbelief. “I thought she died!”

“It can’t be…” Weiss said, her eyes bulging. She was suddenly aware of a sharp pain in her side, her hand falling to where a familiar scar laid.

“Weiss,” Ruby murmured in worry, before turning back to Blake. “Why is she here? And why is she with the SDC?”

Blake paused, then sighed. “Yang’s mission was to assist in wiping out the remnants of Jaques’ violent holdouts. Jacques’ rhetoric of xenophobia and extreme influence through funds let him finance a private military of sorts, lead by the man Ironwood replaced, General Cadman Kalt, who’d been fired for corruption charges. Yang was sent in as a specialist to work with Winter due to their past cooperation, as well as due to her past experience with a rumored additional secret weapon; Cinder Fall, having survived her last battle with us.”

“ _ WHAT? _ ” Weiss shouted. “You didn’t inform me?  _ You didn’t send me? _ ”

“This is the least important thing you could be upset about right now,” Blake said, looking down at them. “Cinder’s still the Fall Maiden, it suddenly makes sense that we couldn’t ever find her replacment. Moreover, Kalt’s supposedly dangerous in combat in his own right, and he’s got armed soldiers to back them up.” She looked at the other girls. “And we can’t fight them. Weiss lacks her weapon, and Ruby-”

“I know,” Ruby said, “I know.”

“I can’t fight them by myself,” Blake said. “We just have to hope any students or instructors that are here during this break can notice and join in before they do whatever it is they’re here to do.”

“Wait,” Ruby said, noticing a figure in black approaching the platoon. “Who’s that?”

*****

“I must say,” Kalt said, looking out at the courtyard, towards the hall they’d found Cinder in, “that you’d bring us  _ here _ of all places in this plan B of yours is quite interesting, Fall.”

“Quiet, Kalt,” Cinder said, her voice filled with venom, and her injuries still healing. That she, a  _ maiden _ , would be beaten so thoroughly by the sisters of the Schnee she’d tried to kill and the girl that’d taken her arm enraged her to no end, not to mention she’d been denied a  _ third _ time now. “We’re here to kill the handful of huntsmen boarded here. I had to learn Haven and Mistral’s structure well for my plan. We kill these Huntsmen, there won’t be anything to stop us from marching into Mistral and overtaking their government, or at the very least burning the city to the ground.”

“You think they’ll follow you?” Kalt said with a chuckle.

Cinder scoffed. “If there’s a common thread in people from Mistral, it’s their spinelessness. Now, where are the Huntsmen?”

“They’re long gone,” another voice said. “You’re not killing anyone today.”

Rather dramatically, the doors to the hall opened, and out strode a woman neither Kalt nor Cinder had seen before. She was a young, short woman, no older than nineteen at most. Her hair was a fine white, short and slicked back across her head. She wore sunglasses that obscured both of her eyes entirely, and she wore what looked like hearing aids. She wore a cropped black jacket with numerous pockets over a midriff exposing shirt, and on the shoulders were a symbol-like R shape. Her pants were similar, dark and coated in cargo pockets, simple black boots covering her feet. She had a simple-looking sword strapped to her back, and a very,  _ very _ familiar red cloth around her neck, not unlike a scarf.

Cinder chuckled at the sight of the man. “You spoke to soon. Kalt?”

“Open fire,” Kalt said disinterestedly, and a dozen rifles began to crack, as the drones advanced forward firing at the woman. Suddenly, a circle appeared beneath the woman’s feet, and seemingly instantly, she dashed through all of them, her sword in her hand as if she had just slashed, the robots now completely motionless. Cinder got a look at the blade, and it was a blade seemingly forged from solid scrap, looking like steel with strange, golden patterns zig-zagging through the blade haphazardly. It was also vaguely familiar, she thought, as the drones all fell to pieces behind the woman, and she sheathed the sword with a smirk.

“That can’t be possible,” Cinder said.

“That circle,” Kalt said, his gaze growing stern, “that was a time dilation Glyph. You’re a Schnee?”

“Something like that,” the woman said. “You can call me Echo. I’m here to kill one  _ particularly _ unruly Fall Maiden.”

Cinder laughed aloud. “Please, a  _ child _ defeating me? That hasn’t happened since that silver-eyed girl.” She manifested a small flame in her hand. “You’re stronger than the average fool, but you don’t know what kind of power you’re facing.”

“Oh, well if you’re looking for a silver-eyed warrior,” Echo said, removing her sunglasses. Behind them were a pair of gleaming silver eyes, a pair Cinder had seen in her nightmares for years. “I think I can fill that part just fine too.”

“N-no,” Cinder said, her eye bulging. “No!” She raised her hand, the flame growing larger. “ _ No! NO! _ ” The flame grew until the orb was the size of the airship, and she threw her hand down, bringing the orb down on top of Echo. “ _ DIE! _ ”

Echo raised her hand, a crimson Glyph appearing between her and the fire. The explosion that resulted from the collision sent a shockwave out, knocking over a woman in a pink shirt on a nearby cliff face that neither Kalt nor Cinder had seen. Cinder panted from her exertion, grinning as the smoke cleared and nothing remained.  _ I’ve lost a significant amount of my power since my cyberization, but I’m still strong enough to vaporize fools like her _ .

Meanwhile behind her, Echo landed on a nearby roof, and looked toward her. Echo rapidly gestured her hands, an ornate red Glyph manifesting before her. She stretched her arms out in front of her, her open palms pointed toward them. “ _ Burning Attack! _ ” she shouted, and a giant stream of flame shot from the Glyph at Cinder. She turned, and seeing the flame, jumped to avoid it. It was then she realized her mistake, as she looked up just in time to see Echo flying toward her, sword raised, screaming in effort. Cinder had only a moment to react, but she didn’t. Instead, in her mind’s eye, the sword became a scythe, the coat a cape, and the woman a young girl, silver shooting from her eyes. Cinder’s scream was cut short, as Echo’s strike made purchase, finding the flesh next to her neck. She followed through, and cut Cinder cleanly through, blood splattering behind her. She slashed several more times, before raising one hand, a miniature version of the Glyph her Burning Attack shot from manifesting, and flames vaporized all the non-metal pieces. Echo landed, the metal remnants of Cinder Fall clattering to the ground behind her. She looked at her sword, and a Glyph appeared at the base of the blade, a jet of water shooting from it to clean the blood off it. 

“Wait,” Kalt said, looking at Echo, “you’ve killed Cinder, isn’t that what you’re here for?”

“Hmm, you have a point,” Echo said, looking at Kalt. “To be honest, I don’t have any idea who you are.” 

Echo sheathed her sword, and Kalt grinned. He raised his arm, and the arm expanded, revealing a large, cartoonish mechanized cannon. “Die, worm!” Kalt shouted, “Death to the Huntsm-”

Kalt found himself cut short, as his arm clattered to the ground, the surprise prosthetic having been cleaved off. “Well, now I don’t need to feel bad about it,” Echo said, before slashing her blade, cleanly slicing Kalt’s head off. Sighing and cleaning his blade again, she took her time gathering all of the pieces of Kalt, Cinder, and his drones, and putting them onto the airship. She messed with the autopilot, setting a course for the middle of the sea, and setting it off, breaking the windshield and hopping out at the last moment as the automated airship left, on a collision course with the deep sea. 

_ There’s the first step done, _ he thought, looking towards the cliff, where Weiss, Blake, and    
Ruby watched from safety, close enough to see what had happened.  _ Now for step two. _

“Hey Blake!” Echo shouted, as loud as she could. “I know you can hear me! Tell them I’m with Yang! I’m about to meet her, come down!”

There was a pause, but the figures disappeared, making their way down to the school. 

_ Don’t worry mom, _ Echo thought, replacing her sunglasses.  _ I’ll save them. I’ll save it all. _

_ ***** _

The group of Echo and team RWBY’s three present members sat inside the hall they’d once fought inside, sitting around a table drinking glasses of water they’d gotten from the hall’s galley. Blake was staring at Echo with narrow eyes, her feline ears laid back in distrust. Ruby, however, was over the moon with excitement over their new companion.

“So what’s your name, miss?” Ruby asked. “You must be crazy strong if you could beat regular Cinder, much less Robo-Cinder.”

Echo chuckled. “I’m afraid I can’t tell you all my name, but I appreciate the compliment. I uh… I had a good pair of teachers.”

“I’ll say!” Ruby said. “That form was incredible, and those powers are  _ so cool _ !”

“Yes,” Blake said, significantly5 less enthusiastically, “how  _ do  _ you have the Schnee semblance, especially one with seemingly such control over a type of Glyph I’ve only seen Weiss use a handful of times?”

Echo opened her mouth to answer, but found herself cut off by Weiss. “The Schnee semblance is what is is because of very careful breeding, as much as I loathe to use that word for it,” she said, raising her hand to manifest a Glyph in her hand, and gesturing for Echo to create the same, mundane Glyph. Weiss’ bore her family’s crest within the center, whereas Echo’s bore the same R symbol found on her shoulder. “See, this lady’s Glyph bears a sign that is likely indicative of her Father. The Schnee semblance is hereditary, but is also very susceptible to being influenced by the semblance of the other parent, hence most Schnees being married off to those without them.” She narrowed her eyes. “Which one  _ is _ your mother? Is it my own? It must be, you look far too old to be Winter’s child. Mother must’ve gotten tired of the traditions.”

“Weiss, that’s pretty rich, considering said tradition breaking is around your finger,” Blake said without breaking her gaze.

“Blaaaaake!” Ruby whined, “we just met this girl, and you’re dropping that we’re married?”

Echo chuckled. “Don’t worry, the secret’s safe with me, assuming it is a secret.” She looked at Weiss, her face growing more serious. “And I can’t tell you my parents’ identities without giving away who I am. But I’ll say I’m not your mother’s daughter, Weiss.”

Blake slammed her hands on the table, her visage turning angry. “I’ve had enough with the cryptic dancing around questions! Who are you? How do you know Yang? How did you know Cinder and Kalt were coming?”

Echo met her fiery gaze, keeping her composure. “You’ll learn what you need to when Yang arrives.”She checked her watch, which showed nothing but a countdown that was nearing completion. “Which should be in around ten seconds.”

There was a beat, after which Weiss scoffed. “Well she’s not here, and that means you’re ly-”

Weiss was cut off by a spectacularly loud crash, the wind from which whipped around a quickly manifested glyph that Echo manifested in the nick of time, protecting her and the girls from the debris flying around them. When the dust settled, a crashed airship laid nested in wreckage, and the cockpit found itself kicked out by a familiar brown combat boot. Out of the crashed cockpit lept Yang Xiao Long, who aside from her boots and a violet scarf used to tie her hair up, was dressed in the entirely unfamiliar outfit of an Atlesian officer, not unlike Winter’s garb. Her face was distraught, and her eyes immediately latched onto the first person she saw, Echo, and she began to talk.

“Get me Haven’s new Headmaster!” she shouted, “Cinder Fall’s on her way and…” Yang paused, seeing her teammates in the room, Ruby cheering loudly for her return while Blake and Weiss smiled. “Oh for  _ fuck’s _ sake, you killed her before I got here?”

Her team ran forward, surrounding her in a group hug. Weiss even sniffled. “You had us worried, you oaf.”

“Nice shirt, Weiss,” Yang said with a grin, making the hug shatter as Weiss stomped out of it.

“God  _ dammit _ !” she shouted, the rest of the team laughing. 

Yang wiped tears of laughter from her eyes as she looked over the girls in front of her. “Weiss! Ruby! Blake! I’m so happy to see you!” She turned to Echo, her confidence faltering for a split second. “Hey, it’s uh… I’m glad to see you again uh…”

“We haven’t met,” Echo said, giving something that lied between a chuckle and a sigh afterward.

“Oh thank fuck,” Yang said chuckling as she scratched the back of her head. She looked Echo up and down. “Judging by the bloodstains on that jacket, you’re the one who offed Cinder for me. Nice.”

Echo nodded. “Kalt too.”

“ _ Nice. _ ” Yang reiterated. “What’s your name, kid?”

“Actually, I was hoping to talk to you in private.” Echo gestured to the hole the plane had left, and for them to exit.

Blake began to protest, but Yang raised her hand to calm her. “Sure, I’ll bite. C’mon.” 

The two of them walked out into the middle of the court, far beyond the others’ earshot. The second they stopped, Echo turned to Yang. “So you’re Yang Xiao Long. I’ve heard-”

“Cut the shit, kid,” Yang said, her smile gone. “I can sense your magic a mile away, that’s why I thought Cinder was still here.” Yang blinked her eyes, trails of purple energy trailing out of them. “Yours isn’t the same as hers though,” Yang said, her eyes narrowing. “Who  _ are _ you?”

“Wow, you are the Spring maiden at this time, she was right,” Echo said with some wonder. Yang began to growl, and Echo relented. “Okay, wait, I can explain.”

“You’d better, because I’d know that magic anywhere, and it feels like mine-”

“I’m from the future!” Echo shouted.

Yang paused for a moment. “You’re joking. That’s your explanation?”

Echo silently removed her glasses, revealing silver eyes, ones that gleamed with maiden magic. She looked Yang in the eye, and spoke with fiery confidence. “Your name is Yang Xiao Long, daughter of Raven Branwen, the former Spring Maiden. You killed her in anger and spite, and your magic is a reminder of that mistake. You married your wife Blake 2 years ago, and are going to ask about children later tonight. Also,” Echo paused, rolling down her left sleeve. On that arm was, albeit slightly rusted and banged up, the unmistakable form of Ember Celica, the same one Yang had around her own arm. “Though it’s just the casing. It doesn’t work anymore. Had to tie it on with Blake’s ribbon, even.”

Yang paused in astonishment for a moment, before shaking her head. “Okay, yeah. You’re from the future. Also, time travel is real.  _ What the fuck?” _ Yang shook her head. “Wait, won’t you being here, like, change the future?”

“That’s… complicated.” Echo said, taking a deep sigh. “How… familiar are you with theoretical physics?”

“I may be an engineer, but that’s just regular physics.” Yang said. “Though I’d guess you’re talking about multiverse theory, given that you’re not actively vanishing.”

“How did you-”

“Bro, this is the plot of like, half the science fiction movies these days,” Yang said with a chuckle. “So, you’re from another timeline huh?” Echo nodded. “Then I’ll cut to the chase,” Yang continued, “Why come here? I’m  _ pretty _ sure things you do here won’t change your future.”

Echo clapped her hands together, letting out another sigh. “So… to keep it  _ really _ simple, because at this point I’m three layers of explanation deep on this, and I’m not entirely sure how it works, but basic multiverse theory is that every decision makes a branch in the timeline, right?” Yang nodded in agreement. “Well, when my mother discovered temporal energy, and therefore time travel and the multiverse, she found something. Every universe, every branch, comes from a single timeline, what she called the “Alpha” timeline. The rest of us are in timelines that eventually… end.We call them “Doomed” timelines, and while we can’t see forward, but we can see countless universes that just… ceased to be. But we noticed something. When we were scanning the timelines, this one… changed.” Echo pulled out a device from her pocket, and with the press of a button, she tossed it to the ground, and the box rapidly expanded into a tall, futuristic looking machine on four thin legs. The device had a oval like cockpit as seemingly it’s entire body, the glass dome covering a single seat. “My time machine isn’t super precise, I’ve admittedly been waiting here for about a week. But the temporal readings showed that an incident about five years from today Doomed this timeline, which shouldn’t happen, because  _ this _ is the Alpha timeline. Whatever happens, it ends all life on Remnant, and probably anything anywhere else in the universe too.”

Yang shook her head. “Okay, you’re throwing… literally everything at me here, so let me get this straight. Everything in the multiverse branches off from this timeline, but that timeline ends in five years, and that means that… everything ends?”

“Eventually, yes,” Echo nodded. “My timeline does outlast it by fourteen years so far, but given that I’m right now uprooting the entire space time continuum, who knows what’s about to happen.”

Yang’s eyes widened. “That’s right, you being here changes the decisions!” Yang pounded her fist into her palm. “So now there could be an infinite number of yous?”

Echo nodded. “To our knowledge, we pioneered temporal energy, its creation was borne from *very* particular circumstances.” Echo pointed at the time machine with her thumb. “It’s biometrically locked. Only someone with explicitly my blending of bloodlines can operate it.”

“Speaking of,” Yang said, narrowing her eyes. “Who…  _ are _ you? Silver eyes, your mother is brilliant, you have my bracer, Blake’s ribbon….”

“I’m Echo Rose,” Echo said. “I’m your niece.”

  
  


Yang gasped, before letting out a squeal and hugging Echo. “ _ AAAAAA! _ I knew she’d have kids! I knew i-” Yang paused, backing up. “Ooooh shit. What if you intervene and you don’t get… born?”

Echo raised her hands in reassurance. “Don’t worry, my timeline’s safe. It was borne somewhere around… Wait a minute, is that arm metal?”

“Y-yeah?” Yang looked at her prosthetic hand, rolling up her sleeve to show the black and yellow metal. “I lost it fighting Adam Taurus when I was… 17 I think?”

“Well there’s the answer I guess, your other arm was in my timeline.” Echo shook her head. “Regardless, I’m here to give you this.” She reached into her coat, pulling out a bottle of medicine. “Exactly 5 years from today, you die from heart failure in my timeline. This obviously wasn’t enough to Doom the timeline before, but this medicine from my future will save your life, assuming that it happens then. My hope is that this is the change that can save the Alpha timeline and keep it going. But I’ll be back around then to make sure. Mostly because of what I’m guessing is the cause.”

“And  _ there’s _ the rub,” Yang said. “Is it at least Salem?”

Echo shook her head again. “Despite your arm, our timelines were very similar. Things… get bleak in five years, no matter what. Without you, almost everyone is killed by a new threat.” Echo sighed. “How familiar are you with a Dr. Merlot?”

“I kicked his company’s ass when I was younger than you. Why?”

“Well, he didn’t die,” Echo said. “He bided his time, and perfected a new enemy; Amalgamates, made from perfectly weaving human and grimm DNA. Paired with powerful experimental powers, they effortlessly kill… everyone. Humanity eventually recovered, it seemed, but it’s long past my lifetime. My future is still a ruin. But now, something has changed, and these Amalgamates’ arrival coincides with the end of this entire universe.”

“I get you,” Yang said, looking at the medicine in her hand. “Your idea is that this timeline didn’t have me before, so perhaps the addition of me could save it?”

“Maybe,” Echo noted, “but I’ll be back around then to help too. I’m pretty powerful in my own right.”

“That so?” Yang said, her voice laced with intrigue. “Well, we  _ do _ have a huge open courtyard to play in.” Yang’s feet widened slightly, preparing her stance as she pocketed the medicine. “And I’d love a taste of the powers that wasted Cinder.” 

“I expected this,” Echo said, replacing her glasses, “and I’ve been looking forward to it.”

“Hit me with your best shot, future girl,” Yang said.

Echo leapt forward, drawing her blade as she jumped toward Yang. As she landed, a time glyph fell at her feet, speeding her up as she slashed at Yang. Yang responded to the slashes effortlessly, using a finger of her metal hand to effortlessly deflect the strikes, deftly blocking over a dozen hits before catching one last, grand blow. Echo leapt back slightly, grinning. “You’re inspiring in your prime,” she said. “Just as good as my masters’ stories.”

“That form paired with that swordplay is unmistakable,” Yang said. “Fuck a taste, I want a full course meal of someone who learned from Blake and Jaune.”

Far away, across the court, Ruby, Blake, and Weiss stood behind rubble, watching the pair. “They’re going to fight aren’t they?” Weiss asked, irritation apparent in her voice.

“Yes,” Blake said with a sigh. “I’m not unsurprised.”

“Well I’m excited!” Ruby shouted. “Let’s see what this stranger can really do!”

Back in the center, Yang heard the wind howl around her, and she felt excitement for a fight for the first time in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few notes:
> 
> -This adaptation isn't pulling from specifically the Dub, Original Manga, or the Team Fourstar version, but rather borrowing elements from all three as well as my own ideas. I feel TFS's comedy has its place in the RWBYverse, and that other elements from the other versions work well.
> 
> -Echo was born from both Ruby and Weiss through science, don't think about it too hard
> 
> -Amalgamate is the stand in for Android. I wanted to use a returning villain as DBZ did with the Red Ribbon army, so I went with Merlot and his grimm experimentations.
> 
> If you've any other questions, don't hesitate to ask, and I hope you enjoyed this first chapter.


End file.
